


Into the Frying Pan

by aceofkpop



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Destiel - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, F/F, F/M, Family, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-24
Packaged: 2018-02-26 18:33:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2662160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofkpop/pseuds/aceofkpop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel and Dean have finally settled in to a familiar pattern with their jobs, relationship, family members and friends. Will a family emergency make or break them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Frying Pan

His fingers stabbed angrily at the backspace button. A frustrated sigh filled the otherwise silent room as fingers pushed up into hair the color of dark chocolate. This wasn't the angle he wanted to approach this novel from, it just wasn't _fitting_. He massaged his fingertips into his sinuses before opening another tab on his web browser. Soon enough, Youtube was playing a 'calming background track', and he felt much more motivated once the sweet melody swept against the walls. He set back to the task at hand.

Just minutes later Castiel frowned to himself as a distinct buzzing registered in his ears. Slowly his fingers came to a halt from the typing he'd just been doing. Upon glancing at his ringing phone he recognized the sweet picture he'd taken of Dean sleeping on the couch with their Labrador Retriever tucked against him, and quickly picked up his boyfriend's call. 

"Dean?"

"Cas, I'm coming home to get you...We have to get to the hospital right away."

Panic shot up his spine and twisted his heart.

"Dean, what's wrong? What happened?"

"I'll explain when I get there, just be ready."

The line went dead suddenly, leaving Cas staring down at the piece of technology as though it were at fault here. After a few seconds of blind panic he struggled up from the chair and moved away from the desk. Vincent, the one also featured in Dean's contact photo, padded eagerly behind him, whining when he didn't get any attention from his owner. Cas pulled on his shoes and standard tan trench-coat, finishing up just as the other occupant of their three-story home came through the front door.

His anxiety skyrocketed even more when, instead of saying anything, Dean merely looked at him with red-rimmed eyes and then pulled him into a tight embrace. Cas could only allow himself to be held for a few moments before he had to break away. He sucked in a deep breath to begin speaking but Dean grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door before he could get a word out.

"Dean...Dean! Stop! I insist you tell me _exactly_ what is going on, and I insist you tell me _right this minute_."

Dean sighed and rubbed the back of his hand uncomfortably. It was then that Cas realized the man was still wearing the thick, tan pants that went along with his fireman's uniform. The fire-proof coat was gone, the suspenders of the pants bright red against the midnight blue of Dean's short-sleeved shirt. His black boots were still pulled on, and there were streaks of soot scattered over the man. Had he just been on a call? Why had he left the scene to come home and get Cas? And take him...to the hospital...His mind began to slow with dread and the refusal to believe that something horrible was about to be spoken by Dean.

"Cas...Anna and Gadreel...They were..." Dean swallowed forcefully.

"They were in a bad accident, Cas, they...Gadreel was pronounced dead on the scene...Anna was airlifted to the hospital and..She's not holding up well, Cas, the doctors are delivering the baby to try and reduce the strain on them both but...We have to go..."

No. This wasn't happening. He wasn't being gently but firmly set down in the passenger seat of their black, 2014 Honda Accord. Dean wasn't driving like the world would end if they didn't make it to the hospital in record time. The red-light they ran at the intersection just in front of the hospital didn't exist, either. Even the doctor- Dr. Hunt- was clearly a figment of his imagination. And there definitely, _definitely_ , was no way that he was being told that his big sister, Anna Milton, had died in the operating room. Any moment he would blink and he would wake up on the couch with some hospital-drama blaring on the widescreen t.v., and he would definitely _not_ be signing his two year old nephew- Oliver- and a newborn baby girl into his custody. A baby girl that didn't have a name because Anna and Gee had wanted to keep the name to themselves until their daughter had been born. No, this was some horrible nightmare that his writer's brain created to punish him for not getting a good night's rest.

Only, when he was escorted to the NICU and guided to the little girl who was wailing in her protection of plastic, he was slammed with just how real it all truly was. Somehow Dean was able to catch him and prevent him falling to the floor. He sobbed into the muscular chest that supported him, even as he was being led stumbling away from the infants. The baby's face had been so spot-on her mother's that Castiel couldn't stop the flashbacks running through his grief-addled mind. Anna picking him up when he fell at the park, and how she dabbed his knees with wet paper towels and sacrificed her last lollipop for the sake of helping him to stop crying. She would always insist that he open the first present on Christmas day, that he get the wishbone at Thanksgiving. She had held his hand when he came out of the closet to their mother, and she'd wrapped him tight in her arms as their mother was lowered into the ground beside their father's resting place....And now both Anna and Gadreel would be added to the family plot.

"Shh, Cas, baby..I know..I know..."

He knew Dean was trying to soothe him, trying his damnedest to calm him enough so that they could get home before he completely freaked out, but the words were falling on deaf ears. He couldn't handle this...

Only, he had to, because just then an agent from Child Protection Services holding a red-headed little boy stepped off the elevator and looked around. Cas scrubbed roughly at his face and wrenched back from Dean unsteadily while he tried to take down a deep breath. The fear on his nephew's face was enough to get him to force a sad smile while he approached the woman holding the boy. Immediately upon seeing his uncle, the boy reached out and Cas took him up into his arms.

"Hey there, Oliver, how was daycare?"

Cas asked, even though he didn't expect much of an answer. He didn't get one either.

"Here's his diaper bag, and the staff sends their condolences. I hope you will accept mine as well."

Cas nodded and Dean thanked the woman. Together those two went back for the elevator and Cas took the young boy over to the observation window outside the NICU.

"Look Ollie, that's your baby sister."

Cas pointed to the small bassinet then looked back at him. Oliver stuck his thumb in his mouth and dropped his head down onto Cas' shoulder.

"Where's Mommy? Daddy?"

Cas' heart lurched in his chest and for one terrifying moment he thought he was going to be sick right then and there. However, Dean returned and gently placed a steadying hand on his unoccupied shoulder.

"Unfortunately they're gone, buddy...You and your sister are gonna have to come live with Uncle Cas and I for awhile...But don't worry, we'll have fun."

Cas turned his teary, thankful eyes onto Dean who just gave a soft smile in return. Ollie sniffled then and Cas felt the evidence of the boy's tears soaking into his coat. His hand that wasn't supporting the boy's bottom came up and pressed gently to the back of his head. He kissed the red-velvet locks of his nephew and couldn't help the next few tears that slipped down his clammy cheeks.

Suddenly, a woman cleared her throat behind them. She smiled empathetically and held up a clipboard and pen. "I'm sorry, I know it's a troublesome time but...We need her name in order to complete her birth certificate..."

Cas took a deep breath and passed Oliver off to Dean before taking the clipboard from the woman. He turned to Dean expectantly, but he just shook his head. "I got nothin', Cas...I think you're much more qualified for this than I am..."

Great, so he was literally naming his niece all by himself. He turned back to the window and peered in at her, trying to envision what she would look like when she was older...But it didn't really do him any good. He thought about Oliver and Anna and Gadreel...What name would they have liked?

"Lucille." Cas said out of the blue.

Dean looked up from Oliver's resting face and nodded with a satisfied purse to his lips. "Lucy for short. I like it."

Cas almost snorted aloud; of course Dean would shorten it right away. He had a knack for doing that. Oliver was always Ollie, Vincent was Vinny back home, Castiel was Cas, Samuel was Sammy, and now Lucille was Lucy. Oh well, he couldn't say he hated the nickname, it was quite cute he thought.

"And her middle name will be Anna." Cas stated definitively as he wrote the full name on the paperwork. Lucille Anna Milton, born at 2:03 PM on October 13th, 7 pounds and 6 ounces.

Once everything was filled out properly and he had handed it back to the nurse, the doctor came to speak with them.

"Lucille here was almost carried to full term so I think we'll only need to keep her overnight just to make sure everything checks out...But I believe you'll be able to take her home with you tomorrow."

She smiled, as though that were good news. In retrospect, Castiel supposed it _was_ a good sign for the baby...But it wasn't so good for he and- oh no. Cas looked up hastily at Dean and felt his throat tightening. Dean looked a little ashen, a bit panicked by the way his pupils were blown wide. In less than twenty-four hours they would be responsible for not only a two-year-old boy, but a brand new baby girl. Thinking of everything in that way...Well, it was perfectly normal for him to be ready to pass out, right? The room swam in front of him, only this time Dean was unable to catch him when he fell.


End file.
